The possible relationship between companion animal behavior and owner
attachment levels has received surprisingly little attention in the li
terature on human-companion animal interactions, despite its relevance
to our understanding of the potential benefits of pet ownership, and
the problems associated with pet loss, or the premature abandonment an
d disposal of companion animals. The present study describes a prelimi
nary investigation of this topic involving a questionnaire survey of 3
7 dog owners and 47 cat owners exactly 1 year after they acquired pets
from animal shelters. The results demonstrate a number of highly sign
ificant differences in owners' assessments of the behavior of dogs and
cats, particularly with respect to playfulness (Mann-Whitney U Test,
P = 0.125), confidence (P < 0.001), affection (P = 0.002), excitabilit
y (P = 0.018), activity (P = 0.002), friendliness to strangers (P < 0.
001), intelligence (P = 0.02), and owner-directed aggression (P = 0.00
2). However, few differences were noted between dog and cat owners in
terms of their perceptions of what constitutes 'ideal' pet behavior. T
he findings also suggest that dog owners who report weaker attachments
for their pets are consistently less satisfied with most aspects of t
heir dogs' behavior compared with those who report stronger attachment
s. Weakly attached cat owners are significantly more dissatisfied with
the levels of affection shown by their pets (P = 0.0186), but in othe
r respects they are far less consistent than dog owners.